Indians clinch Central Division

Monday

Sep 24, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 24, 2007 at 12:13 PM

The Indians nailed down their first American League Central Division championship since 2001 with a 6-2 victory over Oakland at Jacobs Field on Sunday, but the title wasn’t official until the postgame pies-to-the-face were delivered.

Andy Call

For Indians Manager Eric Wedge, chocolate cream pie was the uniform of the day. For General Manager Mark Shapiro, it was strawberry.

The Indians nailed down their first American League Central Division championship since 2001 with a 6-2 victory over Oakland at Jacobs Field on Sunday, but the title wasn’t official until the postgame pies-to-the-face were delivered.

“Everything I feel right now is about the guys in this locker room,” Wedge said with tears in his eyes – probably not provoked by the sting of champagne.

Veteran outfielder Trot Nixon maintained the team’s season-long order of business by pushing a pie into Shapiro’s face during a postgame interview.

Shapiro’s shirt and championship hat were a mess, but his spirits high.

“These guys put an exclamation point on how they felt about their own ability, their own talent,” said the man who assembled that talent during the rebuilding process that began in June of 2002. “These guys had every reason all year to find an excuse, to give in to the challenge. But they never did.”

Cleveland must play out the remaining week of the regular season to determine whether the Indians will face Boston or New York in the Division Series.

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